South African court rules that criminal defamation is in line with constitution
Cape Town, South Africa, December 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision by the Pretoria High Court in South Africa to uphold journalist Cecil Motsepe’s appeal against a conviction of criminal defamation, but disapproves of the court’s ruling that the crime of defamation for journalists falls in line with South Africa’s constitution. Motsepe,…
2014 International Press Freedom Awards
Honoring courage and perseverance Awardees from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa New York, September 30, 2014–Four journalists from Burma, Iran, Russia, and South Africa will be honored with the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2014 International Press Freedom Awards, an annual recognition of courageous reporting. These journalists have faced imprisonment, violence, and censorship.
CPJ urges respect for media freedom in South Africa
Dear Hlaudi Motsoeneng: The Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, is writing to express its concern at recent anti-press statements you made at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
South Africa’s new communications ministry causes concern
Freedom of expression advocates in South Africa are concerned that the new Ministry of Communications, announced by President Jacob Zuma when he unveiled his cabinet on May 25, will compromise the independence of the public broadcaster and serve as a propaganda office.
SABC betrays South Africa’s young democracy
This week, South Africans go to the polls for their fifth democratic elections since 1994, but despite constitutional guarantees of media freedom, the vast majority of South Africans who vote will do so informed only by the positive news and information carried by a public broadcaster widely criticized for its partiality to the ruling party.
Pressure on Journalists Rises Along With Africa’s Prospects
After a decade of unprecedented growth and development, the insistence on positive news remains a significant threat to press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa. By Mohamed Keita A newspaper displayed in the Ikoyi district of Lagos on September 30, 2013, tells of a deadly attack on a college in northeast Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram militants.…
Mandela’s Legacy of Media Freedom Stands Its Ground
How robust are the institutional safeguards that underpin Nelson Mandela’s vision of a strong and independent South African media? By Sue Valentine Nelson Mandela, pictured in May 2011, sometimes accused critical black journalists of disloyalty during his presidency. (AFP/Elmond Jiyane)
South African journalist arrested, threatened
Cape Town, South Africa, January 29, 2014–South African authorities should drop charges against a journalist who was roughed up and detained after photographing police officers allegedly involved in bribery, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Ricky Dire, a journalist with the Daily Sun, also received death threats.